The invention relates generally to marine propulsion devices and, more particularly, to marine propulsion devices adapted for propelling sailboats which are commonly steered by a rudder located either under the hull or behind the transom.
In the past, outboard motors have sometimes been mounted on the transom of a sailboat, but, in general, such mounting has been relatively inaccessible, and consequently, the steering capability of the outboard motor has seldom been used and the propeller was often undesireably trailed in the water when the boat was under sail.
Attention is diverted to the following U.S. Patents:
______________________________________ Jeanson 4,143,614 issued March 13, 1979 Krautkremer 3,683,841 issued Aug. 15, 1972 Adams 3,809,343 issued May 7, 1974 Moberg 3,581,702 issued June 1, 1971 Roberts 4,044,705 issued Aug. 30, 1977 Wagner 3,096,959 issued July 9, 1963 Forbes 2,908,242 issued Oct. 13, 1959 Briggs 2,178,555 issued Nov. 7, 1939 Corcoran 1,800,135 issued April 7, 1931 ______________________________________